The invention relates to a hardtop vehicle roof with two rigid roof parts which are coupled to the vehicle body by a roof operating mechanism and which are movable between a closed position and a storage position in which the roof parts are deposited in a storage space, the roof operating mechanism including a main pivot arm which is connected to the vehicle body by way of a pivot joint.
DE 196 42 154 A1 discloses a hardtop vehicle roof which is movable between a closed position in which it cover an interior vehicle space and a storage position in which the roof parts are deposited in a rear storage space. The hardtop comprises three roof parts which are interconnected in a kinematic chain wherein the rear roof part is pivotally supported on the vehicle body by a body-based pivot joint, the intermediate roof part is connected to the rear roof part by a four-link operating mechanism and the front roof part is coupled to the intermediate roof part by another roof operating mechanism. For opening, the vehicle roof is pivoted backwardly about a vehicle body-based pivot axis by almost 180°; at the same time, the intermediate roof part is pivoted into an about parallel position below the rear roof part and the front roof part is pivoted onto the bottom side of the intermediate roof part. In the storage position, the three roof parts are disposed on top of one another and form a compact storage package.
This vehicle roof however has the disadvantage that, because of the coupling of the rear roof part by way of the pivot joint on the vehicle body, the rear roof part is pivoted backwardly during movement into the storage compartment, whereby, on one hand, a relatively large space for the movement of the vehicle roof during its transfer from the closed to the storage position is needed and, on the other hand, when deposited, the vehicle roof extends to a large extent in the direction of the vehicle roof which reduces the available trunk space.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a hardtop vehicle roof in such a way that the transfer movement of the vehicle roof between its closed and open positions and also its storage position in the storage compartment require a relatively small space.